A wireless access node that is used by wireless devices to communicate with a wireless network has a limited amount of bandwidth to allocate among connected wireless devices. This limited bandwidth is allocated by assigning a wireless access link (or channel) to each wireless device that needs to exchange communications. A dormancy timer in the access node tracks the amount of time since a wireless device last exchanged communications so that, when a certain amount of time has passed, the access node can release the access link for that device. Once released, the access link can be assigned to other wireless devices that need to exchange communications with the access node. Allowing the access link to stay allocated to a wireless device for a time after communications have completed enables subsequent communications to be exchanged without the need to reallocate an access link to the wireless device.
Many wireless devices are capable of executing applications that require the use of an access link for wireless communications. Sometimes these applications will run in the background where a user is not actively interacting with the application and sometimes they will run in the foreground where a user is actively interacting with the application. When a user is actively interacting with an application it is more likely that an application will exchange subsequent communications over an access link than would an application running in the background. Thus, the user experience of an application running in the foreground may benefit from not needing to take the time necessary to have a new access link allocated to the wireless device in order to exchange subsequent communications.
Overview
Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems and methods for adjusting a dormancy timer in a wireless access node based on wireless device application status. In a particular embodiment, a method provides monitoring Application Programming Interface (API) calls from applications running on a wireless communication device for user interface functions and monitoring status of user interface components. The method further provides processing the API calls for the user interface functions and the status of the user interface components to set a dormancy timer threshold. The method further provides transferring the dormancy timer threshold to a wireless communication network that releases a wireless link to the wireless communication device if a dormancy timer for the wireless communication device reaches the dormancy timer threshold.